Life lessons from this week:
- One is enough. It seems that every time I reach for a second treat, I regret it. Savor the one…listen to your wise mind that tells you when to stop. Lesson learned from blueberry muffins this week. The first one was DELISH, the second one was too heavy.
- Smell the roses. I mean this figuratively; however, this lesson continues to be imprinted in my soul from watching my kids. They are on their own time and they don’t give a hoot about hurrying up. Slow down and see what there is to see, smell what there is to smell, hear what there is to hear…
- Give long hugs. This resonates on so many levels. Once again, a lesson learned from my kids…they are long huggers. I catch myself trying to rush though the hugs…on to the next! But seriously, slow down…science says longer hugs release more oxytocin (a happy, feel good brain chemical).
- Make time to do what you WANT to do, not just what you (think you) NEED to do. I have really been working on this one…my mood after painting, reading, writing, exercising, etc is SO much better than my mood after Netflix, voicemails and dishes. Make sure you balance it out.
- Friends are important. Make this a priority. It is NOT easy to get two adults together, much less a group, but fight for it. I have noticed that it can require to adults to sit down over their planners and pencil it in 2 months out…PEN that date in!
- Do nice things for other people, whether you know them or not…and you don’t then have to announce it on Facebook. Just do it to be a cool human.
- Work hard and then stop. Don’t bring it home…that’s the mental equivalent to stepping in dog doo and then walking around the house in those shoes!
- Play mindfully…as in go all in (don’t fret about when it will end or whether you deserve it, don’t worry about what happens next or your grocery list).
- Have an accountability buddy. Work hard to find them and schedule times to meet. Even if it is someone you have to pay.
- Enjoy silence. It is truly the most important thing you can listen to.
- Get out in nature and do NOT dare use earbuds (Note #10)
